title: Menthol regulates TRPM8-independent processes in PC-3 prostate cancer cells.
abstract: Menthol, a naturally occurring compound from peppermint oil, binds and activates the TRPM8 Ca(2+)-permeable channel that exhibits abnormal expression patterns in prostate cancer, suggesting that TRPM8 links Ca(2+) transport pathways to tumor biology. We thus investigated the cellular responses of prostate cancer cells to menthol. Here we found that menthol increases [Ca(2+)](i) via Ca(2+) influx mechanism(s) independent of TRPM8 in PC-3 cells. We demonstrated that menthol induces cell death at supramillimolar concentrations in PC-3 cells and the cell death is not suppressed by low extracellular Ca(2+) condition which indicates that menthol-induced cell death is not associated with Ca(2+) influx pathways. In addition, we showed that menthol increases a phosphorylated form of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in PC-3 cells through TRPM8-independent mechanisms. Thus, our data indicate that there is an apparent lack of causality between TRPM8 activation and menthol-induced cell death and that menthol can regulate TRPM8-independent Ca(2+)-transport and cellular processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28 Yongon-Dong, Chongno-Gu, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
authors.forename: Su-Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joo-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Eun-Jung
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Byung-Joo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung-Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Insuk
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: Ju-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jeon
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D017136:Ion Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008610:Menthol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; D050053:TRPM Cation Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; C473350:TRPA1 protein, human; D050053:TRPM Cation Channels; C425966:TRPM8 protein, human; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; D008610:Menthol; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D002118:Calcium